CEO of the Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa (COHSASA), Jacqui Stewart, will chair the Quality Management Conference at Africa Health, the largest healthcare exhibition on the continent.

Africa Health will take place from 29 – 31 May 2018 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, and is expected to host over 10,100 attendees and 553+ exhibiting companies.

The Quality Management Conference is one of 16 conferences at Africa Health offering education in the latest medical and non-medical techniques, topics and trends.

This year the Quality Management Conference will focus on the theme: ‘Ensuring a resilient approach to a high quality of care’. The conference’s agenda will focus on the science of improvement and the importance of leadership in providing the right direction for delivering quality care. It will discuss transformation of systems at an organisational level and highlight innovative practices to improve efficiency and demonstrate how patient engagement continues to be the most crucial factor in delivering a better patient experience.

Stewart has assembled eminent speakers from Africa for the conference, including Dr Siphiwe Mndaweni who was recently appointed as the CEO of the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) for South Africa. Delegates will also be able to gain insights into improving quality healthcare standards from Mozambique, Nigeria, Malawi and South Africa.

Invited speakers who will be joining Dr Mndaweni include Project Director at JHPIEGO in Maputo, Mozambique, Dr Ruben Frescas, who will provide the keynote address on comprehensive approaches to strengthening the health system; Director of Quality Management at the Ministry of Health – Malawi, Dr Andrew Likaka, who will present on accreditation as a quality driver in Malawi; and ISQua Expert at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Abuja, Nigeria, Dr Emmanuel Aiyenigba, who will present on tools and techniques for improvement.

This year will mark the 6th Quality Management Conference, which has grown steeply in delegate attendance over the past few years. According to COHSASA, this signifies an increasing interest in the subject of healthcare quality and patient safety. At the first conference in 2012, delegates occupied a small room and there were empty chairs. Last year in 2017, the Quality Management Conference was held in the large auditorium, standing room only.